Quick report on upcoming construction activity downtown so you will know what to expect in the next few weeks:

CONCRETE SCHEDULE: Concrete sidewalk was poured last Friday on the west side of the street, south of mid-block. With luck, AES will pour colored concrete at mid-block and the NW corner of Hemlock Monday and Tuesday which will wrap up the west sidewalk. Those pours will be a huge boon for businesses struggling with visibility and access for customers. With pavers also scheduled to start going down next week, the west side of the street will really start to take shape.

1100 BLOCK COMMERCE: AES is likely to get into the SW corner of Hemlock towards the end of this week. When this happens, it will mean traffic changes in the 1100 block which are likely to remain in effect for the duration of the project. Except for 1-2 diagonal parking spaces near the SW corner, on-street parking will be allowed but traffic flow will need to shift and convert to one-way south bound through both blocks. Fact sheets and press releases will be issued before changes are made but we wanted to put you on notice early so it doesn’t come as a surprise.

SWITCHING SIDES: The tentative date to switch to the east side of Commerce is May 22nd. Sidewalk work will begin at the north end by Mill City Gill, moving south in similar fashion to tackle the work in half-block sections. At roughly the same time, AES will also need to start on waterline work in the north end (east side) of the 1100 block. Before we switch sides, Civil Engineer Amy Blain is proposing a coordination meeting on the evening of May 9th to invite folks to share with us what worked well and what didn’t so we can make adjustments before diving in.